This page has been updated to reflect fall 2020 reopening plans that include pre-K.
Alabama
The Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (DECE) released reopening guidance for its First Class Pre-K program that includes policies for preparing for unexpected remote learning and an addendum that addresses remote learning.
California
Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safe Reopening of California’s Public School (June 2020) has a section devoted to early learning and care. There are numerous resources and support programs available to San Francisco’s early educators including financial, health, housing, legal supports, reopening resources, and more on the Office of Early Care & Education’s website.
Colorado
The Colorado Department of Education in partnership with the Colorado Education Initiative conducted the Colorado School District Community Needs Inventory and released the report. Get Help Now was established to manage donations to meet needs. Denver Public Schools created a guide to provide ideas for engaging children in learning activities while at home. Colorado added a series of documents addressing reopening plans for preschool children through 3rd grade.
Connecticut
The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) and the Connecticut Department of Education (CDE) collaborated on a brief document and two webinars (Distance Learning in Preschool for Families and Distance learning in Preschool for Teachers) about “distance learning” in preschool. OEC has also issued policy memos, guidance to parents and providers about finding child care and public health practices, and more response to COVID-19 information can be found on OEC’s website. At the local level, New Milford has created an outdoor preschool. Connecticut added Addendum D to its Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together that specifically addresses preschool located in public schools.
Delaware
The School Resource Hub includes Leadership Toolkits, Grab and Go, and other resources. The Diagnostic Tool to Determine Where to Get Started includes an Hierarchy of Needs and Aspirations for Student Culture and Learning During Distance Learning, and videos.
District of Columbia
DC Public Schools has created a Parent University and AppleTree, a preschool provider, has developed free resources for families at AppleTree Distance Learning.
Florida
The Miami-Dade County Public Schools Instructional Continuity Plan includes resources for K-5.
Georgia
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning has a landing page devoted to the state’s COVID-19 response that includes FAQ Related to COVID-19 (updated regularly) and pre-K providers operating guidelines addendum.
Idaho
Idaho has created a Padlet to provide one location to find resources.
Illinois
Chicago Public Schools Office of Early Childhood Education developed a series of materials including a remote learning guide. In addition, the Illinois State Board of Education has included guidance for pre-K for the state in its reopening plan (June 23, 2020).
Indiana
Indiana has curated resources into an online searchable database for educators and families to use when providing at-home learning opportunities for Indiana students. There are digital and non-digital resources for student in preschool through secondary available through the database. For specific information for early learners a user would select PK as the grade, and Early Learning as the content area. In addition, this webpage links to a Continuous Learning Guidance document developed in part by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to meet the needs of school administrators, teachers, and the families they serve with immediate support to ensure learning may continue outside of the traditional school setting. Finally, as an additional resource IDOE is putting out Continuous Learning Weekly Challenges for grades K-12 on this site. Early Learning Indiana has created a series of COVID-19 blogs.
Iowa
The Iowa Return-to-Learn website includes guidance for Preschool Programs & Services that supports the implementation of the Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards and other preschool program requirements thought various delivery models.
Kansas
Kansas’ Guide to Learning and School Safety Operations provides reopening guidance for grades pre-K-12 in bands. The Pre-K to Grade 2 Band reviews learning standards followed by implementation guidance for on-site, hybrid, and remote learning environments (starting on page 183).
Kentucky
The Kentucky Department of Education has a series of COVID-19 Reopening Resources including consideration for Exceptional Learners and Preschool Students (July 20, 2020). Kentucky has added more guidance for pre-K programs and temporary changes to the state statute.
Louisiana
Louisiana conducted a Distance Learning survey of districts which included questions on plans for re-entry. The Continuous Education Toolkits for School Systems covers different topics- staffing, English learners, families. The Strong Start 2020 Planning Guides includes early childhood, identifying 4 priorities for reopening including sustaining and expanding access, family engagement, classroom quality, and health and safety and the Virtual Pre-K Toolkit.
Maryland
Maryland released its draft Maryland Together: Maryland’s Recovery Plan for Education that identifies “a number of strategies and considerations for school systems as communities move forward together to embrace the new normal of conducting school operations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic” and its pre-K reopening guidance.
Massachusetts
Boston Public Schools, Department of Early Childhood has identified a number of resources to address the unique challenges and opportunities of learning at home for young children. The Somerville Public Schools, Early Education Department, released Learning Resources for School-Home.
Michigan
Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order (June 30, 2020) for the 2020-2021 school year is inclusive of pre-K; details can be found in MI Safe Schools: Michigan’s 2020-21 Return to School Roadmap. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Michigan Department of Education is providing Social Emotional Learning Resources for children and adults.
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Education’s 2020-21 Planning Guidance for Minnesota Public Schools (July 30, 2020) includes a section on Early Learning within the Academic Guidance chapter.
Nebraska
Launch Nebraska has tools, actions, opportunities, and resources to support the planning and preparation needed by Nebraska schools as they transition back to school buildings including Early Childhood Guidance and Considerations (July 24, 2020).
New Mexico
Pre-K-Preschool Reentry Guidance (July 28, 2020) was released as well as reentry district and school guidance.
New York
The NYS School Reopening Resources has several resources including Reopening Schools Guidance that includes Recovering, Rebuilding, and Renewing: The Spirit of New York’s Schools that is inclusive or pre-K, including information on budget and fiscal considerations, staffing regulations, and duration flexibility (p. 92-96).
North Carolina
In an effort to support families and teachers, the NC Office of Early Learning has created the NC Office of Early Learning Remote Learning Site. The site contains weekly family resources for home learning that do not require technology for children ages Birth through Grade 2. These are aligned with the NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development and the NC K-12 Standard Course of Study. There are also links to many digital resources.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma State Department of Education has released the Return to Learn: Launching Instruction Guides, including ones specifically for PreK and Kindergarten and Foundational Literacy. These documents provide educators guiding questions and meaningful actions that might help the return to school go more smoothly as it relates to teaching and learning.
Pennsylvania
Guidance for Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs (July 24, 2020) provides reopening guidance by program type and guidance for preschool remote learning.
South Carolina
Engaging Creative Minds is supporting schools in SC by providing PD and materials. South Carolina First Steps created guidance for programs in non-public schools.
Tennessee
The Tennessee Department of Education hosts an Update on Corona Virus landing page that includes the School Reopening Toolkit: Early Childhood (June 11, 2020) and FAQ: Early Childhood Education Reopening (July 1, 2020).
Texas
The Texas Education Agency released its draft Planning for Back to School: Remote Asynchronous Pre-Kindergarten Model which is designed to support LEAs in planning for the 2020-2021 school year and recently added additional guidance for its school reopening which provides more details for pre-K operations.
Utah
The Three Phases of Recovery Model provides a framework for the future to prioritize the goals and activities that schools should engage in.
Vermont
Vermont issued Health Guidance for Childcare Programs, Summer Programs and Afterschool Programs.
Virginia
The COVID-19 & Virginia Public Schools landing page has a section on Early Learning & Child Care that provides guidance for pre- and other school-based early childhood programs and FAQs that include guidance for the Virginia Preschool Initiative.
Washington
The Washington State Department of Health released Child Care, Youth Development, and Summer Day Camps During the Covid-19 Outbreak (July 22, 2020) that includes guidance for ECEAP (the state pre-K program).
West Virginia
West Virginia has developed a COVID-19 Response site that includes a lot of information about early and elementary learning, including digital and non-digital family engagement resources, educator resources to promote remote learning, an educator hub where WV educators can submit the innovative ideas they are using to engage children during this time of remote learning, a remote learning guidance document that addresses P-12 but has specific sections for early and elementary learning, etc. It also features our partnership with WV Public Broadcasting, which includes segments about child and family engagement.